The Climate & Health Funders Coalition announced $150 million in new commitments at COP31, bringing total commitments to $450 million as funders expand support for climate-related health programs.
More than $225 million of the coalition’s original $300 million pledge has been awarded in its first year. The initial pledge was announced at COP30 in Brazil in November 2025. The coalition said its awards support 20 programs focused on extreme heat, air pollution, climate-sensitive infectious diseases and health data systems.
The new commitments include an opportunity to match funding for clean-air projects. The coalition said its support is intended to reach communities vulnerable to climate impacts. It also listed DHIS-2 among supported programs; the system brings climate and environmental data into health systems in Africa and Asia.
The announcement comes amid a broader COP31 discussion about climate change and public health, covered in EconoTimes’ earlier report on the climate crisis as a global health crisis.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo called on governments to keep supporting the observations and data needed for early-warning systems. She said 136 countries reported multi-hazard early-warning systems in 2025, up from 56 in 2015. “We cannot afford to fly blind,” Saulo said.
WMO’s 2026 update put the global average temperature from January to September at 1.47°C, plus or minus 0.13°C, above the 1850-1900 average. It ranked 2023 through 2026 as the four warmest years on record and forecast El Niño to continue into early 2027.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that six climate-health measures, if scaled globally, could prevent 1.6 million deaths annually. Its modeled analysis projected $3.9 trillion in annual economic-welfare benefits and another $5.4 trillion in fiscal benefits, with the latter tied to efficient fossil-fuel pricing. The report estimated that five measures would average $24 in benefits per $1 invested, while heat-health warning systems could return $835 per $1.
The coalition plans to establish an independent secretariat. COP31 is scheduled to run through Nov. 20, and WMO’s final State of the Global Climate 2026 report is due in March 2027.
